~SCARLETT.
*~FLASHBACK~*
EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD.
I clutched my small bag tightly, the strap digging into my shoulder. It held everything I had left—just a few clothes thrown together in a hurry. Everything else was gone.
It had only been a month since my parents died, and my life had unraveled faster than I thought possible. At first, I couldn't leave the house. I spent days locked in my room, crying until I couldn't anymore.
Then came the knock on the door.
The men in suits were cold and clinical. They spoke about bankruptcy, debts, and legalities with practiced detachment, while I sat on the couch, numb. My father—Roy Everett—had been one of the richest men in California. But according to them, his wealth had been built on shaky foundations. Everything was being seized: the cars, the m
